A Good Day To Die Hard Brings Back Another Familiar Face

The Die Hard films comprise one of the best action series of all time and even though the fourth installment, Live Free or Die Hard, doesn't measure up to the standard set by the previous three, the addition of Mary Elizabeth Winstead to the franchise was a more than welcome one. After kicking some ass as Lucy, Winstead then won our hearts (as well as continued to kick ass) as Ramona Flowers in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and by killing, well, things in the remake of The Thing. So it was a little disappointing to hear that the fifth film in the Die Hard franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard, shifts the focus to the other McClane child John Jr., played by Jai Courtney.

Nothing against Courtney, who's got a few big projects of his own on the horizon with a supporting role in Jack Reacher and I, Frankentstein, but I'm not sold on why writer Skip Woods and director John Moore decided to move ahead with Die Hard but leave Lucy behind. One of the staples of the action series is Bruce Willis' John McClane's combative relationship with the women in his life, particularly the on-again off-a-lot marriage with Holly. Winstead's character served as a nice surrogate for that dynamic, and once of the few people to really rally behind in Live Free.

It seems like I'm not the only one lamenting the possible lost opportunity of making another Die Hard installment and not including the best new character from the previous film because, according to extra Ted Cross' blog, Winstead will indeed be reprising her role as Lucy Genarro McClane, even if only in a brief appearance. Cross, who has been blogging (and doing extra work) about the film since production started in Budapest some time ago, states that he had the privilege working with the lovely young actress: "It's a scene near the end of the movie. I got to work with Bruce Willis again, which is always nice. The best, though, was that I got to work with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays Willis's daughter."

That just gave me a(nother) reason to be excited for the fifth Die Hard, which opens February 14, 2013. Happy Valentines.

UPDATE: Here's a look at Winstead on set with Willis (head over to The Film Stage for a few more).